Music? Music!

Discovering new bands used to be like Christmas. Except it could be at any time, sometimes when you least expected it. Nowadays, my look-into-and-buy list is ten times longer than my already-own-and-like list. It's so bad! It's gotten to the point that if I'm buying stuff on amazon.com I will second guess myself silly, until I end up either buying nothing, or buying something I wasn't initially intending on getting.

You have to ration things out, I get that. Especially when you're a poor college student mooching primarily off your parental units, or using financial aid. It only gets worse when you have a job. Cause then you wanna be REALLY careful.

But! There are still rare moments when I'll come across something, either by accident, or happenstance, and totally fall in love. Sometimes it's gradual, sometimes it takes a while to get used to, but then those become the favourites that last so long, you forget what life must have been like without it.

I swear I'm not talking about relationships.

So! What have been my true loves lately? What's left me dancing in the middle of a hardwood floor living room, head banging in the car, crying on my bed, and crooning like the silly sonofabitch that I am? I'm composing a small list for your enjoyment!

I should explain, first, how I come to find music I like. I know absolutely nothing about what's popular. The last time I listed to the radio (voluntarily) was... 2005? ish? It's been a long time. I don't keep up on magazines with the newest albums and the only thing I know about The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus are their religious preferences. Nine times out of ten, someone asks me who's that playing on the radio, I shrug and say sorry honey, can't help you. The the fuck is Lady Gaga? The only reason I recognize Pink's voice is because, well, she has a recognizable voice and a consistent song type. And the craze stream of singer-songwriters has produced so many goddamn women who sound exactly the same that I can't tell who's gained a boyfriend and who's shouting woe-is-the-world. What. The. Fuck?

So all that to say, when I hear a band/musician's name, the first thing I do is find a stream of one of their songs and listen. Preferably find some lyrics, too. One thing I'm terribly about is actually knowing who the band consists of, or who the person is. I'm not one to immediately jump on wikipedia or google and read all the bios and find out who they are, which is a bit of a handicap at times. But regardless, I usually prefer to judge first by sound and lyric content/quality.
Without further rambling, onto the list!

1. Okkervil River. Came across these guys via a web comic called Octopus Pie. The artist had put together different playlists that the primary characters would most likely listen to. I love, love, love their sound. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for folk rock-esque bands, and this is no exception. The musicianship is rather intricate, and I can get lost in following each instrument's part. Lost Coastlines (on The Stand Ins album) is by far my favourite song of theirs so far, and that tambourine line... mm! That in combination with the bass line I think provides a fantastic foundation of a heartfelt, and beautifully crafted song.

2. Ani DiFranco. Okay, obviously she isn't someone no one has heard of, and it's already common knowledge that she's pretty much totally awesome. But I wanted to highlight her first album, self titled, which was released on the year of my birth, go figure! If you have listened to only her later work, this is quite a bit different, as it features only her voice and her guitar. There's one track that is spoken word, almost a slam-poet kind of feel, which is really quite powerful if you let the words roll over you like wind on a tentative summer morning. But this album illustrates one of the things that I respond to in the folk rock category. One, the guitar skills are inspiring for an amateur like me, and two, the range of lyrical mastery is something that can only be appreciated through multiple listenings. It's like reading a really good book over and over again; new things show up, and new connections are made, or something will hit you differently and shock you, because you thought you knew exactly how it was already.

3. Balkan Beat Box. What to say, what to say. I picked up the Nu-Made album at a record store in Sac-town kind of on a whim. It was different, and from listening to it a bit on the sample thing, I thought, why not? I need something I can groove to. According to wikipedia: They established their own unique sound by fusing the musical styles of Jewish klezmer, Mediterranean and Balkan traditions with hip-hop and dancehall beats. And that pretty much describes the vibe. Take the old and create something new. If you read the entire wikipedia article, it's rather inspiring what they've done. I admire the passion and creativity it took to make something like this, and especially end up with something that's just damn fun to listen to.

4. The Builders and the Butchers. Another damn fun band to listen to. It is impossible for me to sit still and play Salvation is a Deep Dark Well. It reminds me of a hybrid of rock and American roots music. They have all the bluegrass and blues instruments, and the types of story-songs, but it's amped up. It channels one of the things I like about Okkervil River; a strong percussion foundation. It's the kind of thing that sinks deep in your bones and shakes you until you have to move because there's so much goddamn energy bursting from your veins. The first time I went all the way through Salvation, I loved every single fucking song. Which is rare. I haven't spent enough time with the album to carefully pick through the lyrics and discover the band from that angle, but until then, I will happily listen on.

5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Oh man. Do me a favor. Find Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! somewhere on the internet, and listen to the song (it's also the name of the album, except fewer exclamation points). I am in love with the way the lyrics are crafted. The poetry makes my entire body tense up because I want to catch every single bit of it. It's so raw and tangible. It almost sounds textured; like you could touch the words and the meanings themselves. The sound itself is an intense and eclectic blend of... everything I love? Blues, punk (or post-punk, depending on your point of view), rock 'n roll. It's like a Christmas present that has more surprises the more you open it. It took me a while to get into them, but once I did, I was hooked. It's violent, dirty, sexy, addicting, but not to the point of being completely obnoxious and unbearable.

6. Imogen Heap. I swear to God, I am in love with this woman. I didn't listen to Speak for Yourself for a while, because the album had some memories surrounding it, with the traumatic falling out between a close friend and myself. When I finally did stumble across her again, the power was no less than before. I don't love every single track on the album, or on Frou Frou's “Detail” album, but there is enough. More than enough. Hide and Seek is probably my favourite, of all time. It never fails to make me cry. The harmonics produced are haunting. It's the kind of song you either love, or you hate. But for myself, it's heart stopping.